ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Finance Commission
15th Finance Commission interacts with Chairmen of previous Finance Commissions
Towards the end of their deliberations, the Chairman Shri N.K Singh and Members of the 15th Finance Commission today held a virtual meeting with the Chairmen of previous Finance Commissions, Dr C. Rangarajan, Chairman 12th Finance Commission and Dr. Vijay Kelkar, Chairman 13th Finance Commission.
The Chairman Shri N K Singh began the meeting by calling it “A representation of our federal history over the past 20 years and over next five years given the award of the 15th Finance Commission”.
The Fifteenth Finance Commission  is mandated to make their final report for 2021-26 available by 30th October, 2020. The Commission remains on course to complete their task.
The Chairmen of the previous Finance Commissions appreciated the tough challenge faced by the 15th Finance Commission, given the background of the Covid-19 pandemic, the resultant loss of economic activity and its impact on fiscal parameters of the general government. The Chairman and Members of the XVFC expressed their gratitude for the insights that they received from the thinking and framework of the previous Finance Commissions and from their deliberations with them.
Ministry of Textiles
“Artisan Speak & Jute Expo” – a textile outreach initiative starts from today Union Ministry of Textiles to take initiative for production of low cost sanitary napkins: Union Textiles Secretary
-Kolkata, 7 January, 2019
A textiles outreach initiative of the Ministry of Textiles named “Artisan Speak & Jute Expo” is being held in the newly restored heritage structure of Old Currency Building here in the city today. The programme to be inaugurated by Union Minister of Textiles Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani today will continue till January 10, 2019.
Shri Raghavendra Singh, Secretary, Union Ministry of Textiles lighted the lamp in the programme which started today morning. On the occasion, the Textiles Secretary said, this event mainly aims to promote Indian handloom, handicraft, silk and jute and provide platform for marketing and business linkages with international buyers and also the domestic market. This initiative will also open up new opportunities for artisans for exhibiting their products for four days. The objective of this Outreach Textile Event is to project and create awareness about the textile industry by inviting international buyers, agents and other marketing organizations, establish B2B connects, to provide knowledge with design intervention for viable marketing for improving exports and domestic presence, as stated by the Secretary.
Speaking of an unique initiative being taken by the Ministry of Textiles in collaboration with Ministry of Women and Child Development and a few other stakeholder ministries, Shri Raghavendra Singh also stated, cost-effective sanitary napkins made of jute will be produced to be supplied to women all over the country to address their hygienic needs at a low cost.
Office of Principal Scientific Advisor to GoI
Innovation Challenge for the development of Machine Aided Translation System  launched
“The major strength of India lies in its diversity, whether it is food, culture, or the diverse set of languages and scripts. We welcome this step, and this innovation challenge will help build capacity across many sectors.” – Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood
“The Natural Language Translation mission has the potential to be a game changer in information dissemination. We invite industry and startups to contribute to this national mission.” – Dr.  Parvinder Maini
“The endpoint of this innovation challenge is to not just make a translation technology but a translation technology for everybody. The time has now come to handover the baton to the industry and startups to deploy technologies which are readily available for all.” – Shri Amit Agrawal
The Innovation Challenge for the development of Machine Aided Translation System  was launched by Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, the Principal Scientific Adviser  to the Govt of India on 26th August 2022 at Vigyan Bhawan Annexe, New Delhi. Dr.  Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary, Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, and Shri Amit Agrawal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology  graced the event with their esteemed presence.
In March 2019, the Office of PSA announced nine National S&T Missions on the recommendations of the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council. One of the missions, the ‘Natural Language Translation Mission’ intends to make science and technology accessible to all citizens in their mother tongue. Using a combination of machine and human translation, the mission is aimed at enabling access to teaching and research material bilingually – in English and one’s native Indian language.
The Innovation Challenge for the development of Machine Aided Translation System  was launched under the Natural Language Translation Mission. It is primarily divided into three stages: Stage-I , Stage-II , and Stage-III . The Challenge is targeted at involving industries and start-ups to develop machine-aided translation systems using open-source translation platforms and text corpus available in the public domain, including those available on the language technology platform, Bhashini  built by MeitY.
For more details on the Innovation Challenge for the development of Machine Aided Translation System : ‘Read More’
‘Click here’ to apply!
Ministry of Railways
Central Railway plays the good Samaritan amidst Covid crisis
In an incident that required some quick thinking, the Central Railway managed to help a heart patient from Chiplun to get the much required medicines shipped from Mumbai. The Central Railway Parcel Office collected the medicine parcel from Vikhroli and booked it on the Okha-Ernakulam Parcel Train. Though, the train did not have a scheduled halt at Chiplun, the staff coordinated with Konkan Railway authorities and requested a brief halt to drop the parcel, which was then handed over the Chiplun Station Master.
In yet another similar incident, Central Railway had helped transport camel milk from Falna in Rajasthan to Secunderabad, that was much required for a child under special treatment.
Amidst nation wide lockdown, when passenger services have remained suspended, the parcel and freight trains have moved across the country transporting food grains, perishable food items, medicines etc. Central Railway alone has transported 283 tonnes of medical items during the lockdown. It has already run 180 time tabled parcel trains and 40 more are scheduled. Mumbai, Pune, Solapur, Bhusaval and Nagpur divisions have worked relentlessly during India’s battle against Corona virus.
Other units of Central Railway have also pitched in with their own contribution. The Parel and Matunga Railway Workshops have manufactured over 13,000 masks and 1,600 litres of sanitizers for use of the railway staff and other frontline workers. More than a century old Kalyan Railway School joined in voluntarily preparing masks and sanitziers.
CR Press Release : https://cr.indianrailways.gov.in/view_detail.jsp?lang=0&dcd=5386&id=0,4,268
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Ministry of Earth Sciences
Union Minister Dr Jitendra says, first batch of 23 scientists and support staff reached the Maitri station on November 10, 2021 under the 41stIndian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica  launched recently
Exploring the geological link between India and Antarctica in the past and understanding of Antarctic climate are the two main objectives of the Expedition: Dr Jitendra Singh
Union Minister of State  Science & Technology; Minister of State  Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh informed that the first batch of 23 scientists and support staff reached the Maitri station on November 10, 2021 under the 41stIndian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica  launched recently. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today, the Minister said that the Expedition will carry out various scientific activities in Antarctica, besides maintaining India’s two research stations viz Maitri and Bharati.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, the 41stexpedition has two major objectives. The first encompasses geological exploration of the Amery ice shelf at Bharati station to understanding the geological link between India and Antarctica in the past. The second goal involves ice core drilling work near the Maitri station, focusing primarily towards improving the understanding of Antarctic climate, westerly winds, sea ice and greenhouse gases. Apart from these, other long-term observations in the field of geology, glaciology, ocean observations, and upper atmospheric sciences are continuing.
The major thrust area of the scientific projects being taken up in Antarctica are focused on furthering the existing knowledge under various themes such as Climate Process & Linkages to change, Crustal Evolution, Environmental Processes & Conservation, Ecosystem of Terrestrial & Nearshore, Observational Research. Institute and universities from all over the country participate in the Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica  with the operational support provided by NCPOR.
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Prime Minister's Office
PM congratulates Padma awardees
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has congratulated those who have been conferred the Padma Awards.
The Prime Minister tweeted :
"Congratulations to those who have been conferred the Padma Awards. India cherishes their rich and varied contributions to the nation and their efforts to enhance our growth trajectory. #PeoplesPadma"
Ministry of Defence
Nodal Agency to test and Certify Defence Equipment
As part of the annual Budget for 2022-23 an announcement has been made to set up an independent nodal umbrella body for meeting wide ranging testing and certification requirements. The nodal body is envisaged to be an autonomous body to permit, promote, hand-hold, monitor & supervise and act as a Single-Window Nodal agency to enable and regulate the existing facilities of Trial, Testing and Certification of Defence Products, besides creating new facilities.
During the last three financial years  and current financial year 2021-22  127 capital acquisition contracts have been signed with Indian vendors for capital procurement of Defence equipment for Armed Forces. Out of these, 55 contracts have been signed with PSUs/erstwhile OFB/DRDO and 72 contracts have been signed with Indian private vendors for capital procurement of Defence equipment for Armed Forces.
This information was given by Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt in a written reply to Shri Vaiko in Rajya Sabha on March 28, 2022.
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Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
The Speed of Nation’s Progress Got New ‘Shakti’ Through Launching of PM GatiShakti: Union Minister Shri Sarbananda Sonowal
Sarbananda Sonowal Holds Press Conference in Dibrugarh Today
The speed of nation’s progress got new ‘Shakti’ through launching of an ambitious initiative PM GatiShakti on October 13, said Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and AYUSH, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal in a Press Conference in Dibrugarh today. He said that PM GatiShakti is a national master plan for multi-model connectivity and extension of holistic governance which will give impetus to 21st century India.
Talking about Gas pipeline in India, Shri Sonowal said that in last 7 years, work is going on for more than 16 thousand kilometre long gas pipeline across the country. Also talking about railway connectivity the minister said that in last 7 years more than 9 thousand kilometre of railway line have been doubled and more than 24 thousand kilometre of railway tracks have been electrified.
Mentioning about the mantra of 21st century India, Shri Sonowal said that today’s mantra is work for progress, wealth for progress, plan for progress and preference for progress and PM GatiShakti-National master plan will address all these issues.
Talking about the wide gap between macro planning and micro implementation the Union Minister said that the problem of lack of coordination always hamper construction and makes wastage of budget. He said that in 2014 when the current government came to power under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi there were hundreds of stuck projects. PM Modi put all this projects on a single platform and tried to remove hurdles and because of this initiative many unfinished projects for decades are being completed, he added.
The minister informed that 16 cenral government departments including railways, roads and highways, power, shipping and others will be part of this Gatishakti initiative. Gatishakti will incorporate the infrastructure schemes of various Union ministries and State government and this master plan will also ensure quick completion of work with vast efficiency, he added.
Ministry of Home Affairs
INFILTRATION IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR
The Government of India has adopted a well coordinated and multi-pronged strategy to tackle the cross-border infiltration. This includes tactical deployment of forces at International Border /Line of Control , use of technology like Surveillance Cameras, Night Vision Cameras, Heat Sensing Gadgets, etc., multi-tiered deployment along IB/LoC, border fencing, deployment of intelligence personnel to collect advance and target-oriented inputs on infiltration, ambushes and foot-patrolling by Army/Border Security Force , establishment of Border Police Posts for generating local intelligence and taking pro-active action against infiltrators.
The approach adopted by Government of India to tackle the cross-border infiltration has ensured a perceptible decline in infiltration. Year-wise details are as under:
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|
Year
|
|
2019
|
|
2020
|
|
2021
|
|
2022
|
|
2023 
|
|
Net infiltration
|
|
141
|
|
51
|
|
34
|
|
14
|
|
00
This was stated by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Nityanand Rai in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Commerce Minister Releases Report on Industrial Park Rating System
Suresh Prabhureleasing the report on Industrial Park Rating System
The Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, released the report prepared by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion , Ministry of Commerce & Industry, on Industrial Park Rating System. Speaking on this occasion, Commerce Minister said that manufacturing has emerged as one of the high growth sectors in India and it has moved 23 places up in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business  and achieved rank 77 out of 190 countries. In order to ensure that India moves into the top 50 countries in Ease of Doing Business the Ministry has undertaken this exercise in studying infrastructure across states and in 3354 industrial clusters in order to assess quality of infrastructure in industrial parks.
Suresh Prabhu stated that this will be a useful tool for policy makers and investors at the click of a button. 3000 parks are on the database and the industrial parks have been rated on 4 points: internal infrastructure, external infrastructure, business services and facilities and environment, safety management.
To optimise resource utilisation and enhance the efficiency of the manufacturing sector, DIPP launched the Industrial Information System , a GIS-enabled database of industrial areas and clusters across the country in May 2017. The portal serves as a one-stop solution to the free and easy accessibility of all industrial information including availability of raw material – agriculture, horticulture, minerals, natural resources, distance from key logistic nodes, layers of terrain and urban infrastructure.
Over the last one year, State Governments and Industrial Development Corporations have actively used the portal and nominated over 200 parks for their assessment along the above parameters.
IPRS is proposed to be translated into an annual exercise covering all the parks across India. Coverage would be widened and updated to bring in deeper qualitative assessment feedback, bring in technological intervention and develop it as a tool that helps effectively for demand driven and need based interventions both by policy makers and investors.
On this occasion Secretary DIPP, Ramesh Abhishek, Country Director of Asian Development Bank, Kenichi Yokoyama and other senior officials were present.
Ministry of Science & Technology
We need to examine knowledge chain to see how S&T will lead to Atmanirbhar Bharat: DST Secretary at Rajasthan STRIDE Virtual Summit
Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary Department of Science & Technology , Govt. of India stressed on the need to examine and strengthen the knowledge chain end- to- end to see how Science & Technology will lead to Atmanirbhar Bharat while speaking at the Rajasthan STRIDE Virtual Conclave an initiative by the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of Rajasthan organized on 30th May 2020.
“Since there is a call for Atmanirbhar Bharat or self- reliance, it has to be responded with global quality. To become self-reliant, we have to build up on the strengths of India, which are its R&D, Design, workforce, huge markets, demographic dividend, its diversity, and data,” he said.
Focusing on Science, Society and Self-reliance, Professor Sharma, touched upon the learnings from the COVID-19 crisis. “In the last two months, great things have happened in terms of bringing solutions for COVID-19, be it designing world-class ventilators or new diagnostic methods. All this has happened because of a clear and present understanding of our needs & priorities and a problem-centric approach which involved both academia and industry as partners. We can build on our strengths and the lessons of COVID-19 with speed and scale by strongly connecting our knowledge generation systems with knowledge consumption for the benefit of both.” he said.
Speaking about how DST is tackling emerging challenges like Sustainable Development, rise of intelligent machines, Industry 4.0, that will remain important in all foreseeable future, Professor Sharma added, “DST has already launched a mission on Cyber-Physical Systems worth 3660 crores with a focus on the convergence of different branches of technologies such as communication, computing, Artificial Intelligence, autonomous machines, etc. A mission on Quantum Technology & Devices worth 8,000 crores is being formulated.”
He stressed on the importance of Scientific Social Responsibility in connecting Science with the Society. “This has been implemented in Science and Engineering Research Board a DST body, on a limited scale and policy on it is underway to be notified,” he pointed out.
Talking about Transfer of Technology in reaching the benefits of science to society, he said, “Technology Transfer is all about connects between Industry and Academia and willingness to work with others. Lots are happening in this area. Institutions like Indian Institutes of Technologies are working in this direction.”
Highlighting DST’s investment in Agri-startups, he said, “Agriculture is a vast domain in terms of opportunities. DST alone has supported around 120 incubators with over 3000 tech startups, including several hundred in agriculture and allied areas like water, soil, mapping, sensors, and actuators. Both the number of incubators and the startups have rapidly doubled in the last 5 years.”
Ministry of Civil Aviation
Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia inaugurates direct flights between Indore and Chandigarh
The flights will operate three days a week
Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia along with MoS, Ministry of Civil Aviation Gen. Dr. Vijay Kumar Singh  inaugurated direct flights between Indore and Chandigarh today, 1st November 2022.
The operation of this new route will enhance regional connectivity and promote trade, commerce, and tourism between these cities. The flights will operate three days a week as per the following schedule:
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Flt No.
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From
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To
|
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Freq.
|
|
Dep. time
|
|
Arr. time
|
|
Acft.
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|
Eff. from
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6E 959
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|
IDR
|
|
IXC
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|
2,4,6
|
|
1005
|
|
1150
|
|
A320
|
|
01 November 2022
|
|
6E 6738
|
|
IXC
|
|
IDR
|
|
2,4,6
|
|
1230
|
|
1440
In his address, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia congratulated the residents of both cities and said that it is a matter of great joy that a new route is being enabled for Madhya Pradesh’s economic capital, on the special occasion of the Foundation Day of the State. Besides, the Minister assured that the Union Government is making significant efforts to provide additional international flight operations to Chandigarh airport.
Gen. Dr. Vijay Kumar Singh  expressed optimism that it would offer easy and comfortable travel options, along with boosting trade and commerce activities.
The inauguration was graced by Shri Kailash Vijayvargaya , Shri Tulsiram Silawat, Minister for Water Resources, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, Ms. Anmol Gagan Mann, Minister of Tourism and Culture Affairs, Govt. of Punjab, Shri Shankar Lalwani, Member of Parliament , Shri Mahendra Hardia, MLA, Ms. Malini Gaur, MLA, and Shri Pushyamitra Bhargav, Mayor of Indore, Shri Gaurav Ranadive, BJP City President. Additionally, Shri Rajiv Bansal, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Shri R.K. Singh, Principal Advisor, IndiGo, and other dignitaries from MoCA, AAI, IndiGo, and local administration from Indore and Chandigarh were also present.
Previous press release on UDAN can be seen here-
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1872042
Prime Minister's Office
Prime Minister's address at Global Summit on Supply Chain Resilience
Your Excellency- President Biden,
I thank you for taking this Summit initiative on the important subject of supply chain resilience. As soon as you took over, you said, "America is back”. And in such a short time, we are all seeing this happening, and therefore, I would say, Welcome Back!
Excellencies,
In the initial months of the pandemic, we all felt the shortage of raw materials to produce vaccines, health equipment and essential medicines. Now that the world is gearing up for economic recovery, the supply problems of semiconductors and other commodities are coming in the way of healthy growth. Who in the world thought there would ever be a shortage of shipping containers?
Excellencies,
India has accelerated the export of vaccines to improve the global supply of vaccines. We are also working with our Quad partners to supply better and affordable Covid-19 vaccine in the Indo-Pacific region. India is gearing up to produce 5 billion COVID vaccine doses for the world next year. It is also very important that there is no hindrance in the supply of raw material.
Excellencies,
I believe that three aspects are most important to improve global supply chains – Trusted Source, Transparency and Time-Frame. It is necessary that our supply must be from Trusted Sources. It is also important for our shared security. Trusted sources must be such that they do not have a reactive tendency so that the supply chain is protected from a tit for tat approach. For the reliability of the supply chain, it is also necessary that there must be transparency in it. Due to lack of transparency, today we are seeing that many companies in the world are facing the shortage of small things. If there is no timely supply of essential things, it may lead to bigger losses. We have clearly realized this in pharma and medical supplies in the Corona times. So to ensure supply within a time-frame, we have to diversify our supply chains. And for this, alternative manufacturing capacity will have to be developed in developing countries.
Excellencies,
India has built its credibility as Trusted Sources of pharmaceuticals, IT and other items. We look forward to playing our role in clean technology supply chain as well. I suggest that we instruct our teams to meet quickly to come up with further action plan within a certain time frame, based on our shared democratic values.
Thank you.
DISCLAIMER: This is the approximate translation of Prime Minister’s remarks. Original remarks were delivered in Hindi.